


Open 24 Hours

by notjustmom



Series: August Writing Prompts 2019 [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Gen, Natasha owns a coffee shop, Post-Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-07-30 07:17:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20093425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: An alternate universe in which Natasha is a retired Cold War era spy who owns a coffee shop in New York. The boys live in Stark Tower.





	1. After the Chitauri

**Author's Note:**

> Have the feeling this might turn into something longer...

“Mornin’ fellas.” Natasha Romanov looks up from her first cup of coffee of the day to see Tony, Clint and Steve fall into the closest booth they can find. Twenty years, nah, maybe a quarter century ago, she would have fought alongside them without a single thought. Today, if she were of fighting age, she wasn’t quite so sure. The Cold War with all its problems - no tech to speak of, the food was god-awful, and some days it was hard to know which side you were on, was child’s play compared to the stuff these boys faced now. Norse Gods? Wormholes? Aliens? At least those she fought against were human, technically.

“The regular?”

They nod wearily in unison and she shakes her head as she places three white coffee mugs on a tray and fills one half-way, another to nearly overflowing, and the last she leaves just enough room for a splash of milk. Their coffee orders are as different as the three men seem to be. 

Steve was still enamored with the idea that he could have as much milk as he wanted whenever he wanted, a throwback to his childhood when the milk he could get was usually of the powdered variety. 

Natasha wasn’t positive that Tony didn’t have an IV of black coffee attached to his arm when he wasn’t sitting at her counter on his own, or hanging out in a booth with the boys as he was this morning. She knew he rarely slept, and this morning, it was clear he didn’t sleep much if at all last night.

Then there was Clint. Clint was still a mystery to her; he was the new guy. After a month he still called her ‘Ma’am’ and had that drawl that could only come from a farm in the Midwest somewhere. She considered him the most skilled of the three as Cap had his super strength and Tony had his armor, while Clint was a master archer, who managed to somehow hang with the other two. Maybe someday he’d teach her -

“Hey, Nat. You daydreamin’ about Clint again?” Tony calls out from the booth, but his voice isn’t at full volume, the usual gratuitous snark is mild today and she wonders if Pepper made him sleep on the couch for the nonsense with the nuke. Of course, she wouldn’t be standing there serving him coffee if he hadn’t been such a selfless jerk. 

“Hold your horses, Stark.” She glances over at him with a half-scowl and freezes for a moment as she sees just how defeated he seems. “Fellas want some breakfast?”

They all shake their heads as she makes her way over to the booth with their coffee. She can tell all they want to do is fall into bed and sleep for three days, but the press has been after them ever since half of Manhattan was demolished, the Norse God had gone back home with his brother in tow, and Banner? She has an idea that he is working for Stark in one of his labs, but he hasn’t been seen since the attack, three weeks earlier.

She considers herself lucky, her building was barely touched when the Chitauri invaded; one window would have to be replaced, but there was little structural damage, unlike the surrounding blocks which would eventually be demolished and rebuilt. She sighs as she watches Steve fill the rest of his mug with milk and dumps in a heap of sugar, then stirs it slowly, even he seems tired for once.

“I’m making you boys some food, and you’re gonna stay and eat. I can tell you aren’t sleeping, and I know this one. Would forget where he put his head if it weren’t tightly attached to his neck.” She ruffles Tony’s hair and he blinks up at her, dark circles under his eyes. She’s seen him in bad shape before, when he returned from Afghanistan. The nightmares were back, but they were worse this time. Damn.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Clint manages a wink and a weak smile in her direction, then stares down into his mug. “Thank you, Nat.”

“Thank you, boys. Eggs and bacon?”

They all nod their heads just enough to let her know they heard her, and she rolls her eyes, but ruffles Tony’s hair once more and heads into her tiny kitchen to make them breakfast.


	2. A Look Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha has a flashback to when she and Tony meet for the first time.

She watches as Clint and Steve finish eating, nod their weary thanks to her and leave Tony on his own in the booth. He glares into the mug, then shoots her a sideways glance and she is returned to the first time she laid eyes on him. 

He was twelve, and a half, he would have reminded her, and angry already; he was home for the holidays, and she had escaped a blown cover by the skin of her teeth. Howard had been responsible for getting her home, the new tech he’d created had made it possible for SHIELD to find her, and Stark had insisted she recover in his home. Somehow he had felt responsible for her, she still wasn’t sure why to this day. She had dislocated a shoulder and basically destroyed her left leg, which would soon move her from SHIELD’s active roster to a desk job, but she didn’t know that yet, all she knew was that she was in pain and had lost her partner, so she was in no mood for the angst of a pre-teen Stark.

“Who’re you?” He snarled from the depths of a couch as she limped towards the kitchen in the darkness of an early morning.

“Shit.”

“Language," he mumbled as he reached up and turned on a nearby lamp, then sat up and rubbed his eyes, and stared at her for a moment.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” She hissed, trying not to raise the rest of the household.

“Christmas break.”

“Right.”

“You’re that Russian spy.”

“What, did my accent give me away?” She muttered as she slowly made her across the slick kitchen floor and opened the fridge. “Hungry?”

“Huh?”

“Are you hungry?” She repeated with a sigh then looked him over as he leaned against the doorway. “You’re, what, eleven?”

He rolled his eyes at her and pulled himself up to his full height and crossed his arms. “I’m twelve and a half, if you must know.”

She met his glare and sighed. “Sorry, kid. Look. I need to sit down, but I’m starving -”

He shrugged and whispered, “I can make eggs and toast if you want? That’s about all I know how to make so far. Mrs. Jarvis is going to teach me more over break. She doesn’t really like people messing around in her kitchen.”

She couldn’t help but smile at him as she set her crutches aside and settled herself on a stool and managed to lift her leg onto the one next to it.

He blinked at her and bit his lip, but said nothing, then he took out everything he needed from the fridge and closed the door again. She watched as he got out a bowl and a pan, then stopped and glanced at her again. “Does it hurt?” He asked, in a soft voice, then blushed fiercely and looked down to focus on cracking eggs into the bowl.

For some reason, she didn’t snap at him, but spoke to him gently, as she remembered he was just a kid, and said more than she had since she had returned from the mission. “Yeah, it does. But what hurts more is that I had to leave my partner behind. I’m used to physical pain, it’s an unfortunate part of my job sometimes. But someone blew our cover, someone we trusted, and that is worse. My leg will heal eventually, and I’ve dislocated my shoulder before, but he’s gone, and it was my fault.” She swore under her breath as she felt her eyes tear up for the first time in years and she covered her face with her hands.

“It isn’t your fault that someone else did the wrong thing,” he said simply as he started to whisk the eggs with a practiced hand.

She snorted and removed her hands, then met his eyes, much like his father’s but softer, kinder, somehow. “It was my fault because he saved me.” He stopped whisking and left the room for a moment, returning with a box of tissues, which he put on the counter in front of her. 

“Sorry.” He went back to beating the eggs, then put them aside and turned on the burner and added butter to the pan. As the butter slowly melted, he pulled out the loaf of bread from the bread box and sliced a couple of pieces of bread and slid them into the toaster. “Mrs. J always bakes bread on Sundays. I didn’t have store bought bread until I went away to school. I know that sounds spoiled. It’s just what I know.”

There didn’t seem more that needed to be said. He finished cooking the eggs and pushed the lever on the toaster down. Then he plated up the food and placed it in front of her and handed her a fork. “You’re the first person I’ve cooked for, I hope it’s okay.”

She took a bite and nodded. “It’s great, kid. What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you kid.” She put down her fork and awkwardly offered him her left hand. “I’m Natasha. My friends call me Nat.”

He grinned shyly and held her hand gently. “Anthony. But you can call me Tony.”

“Good to meet you, Tony.” 

She still remembers how his eyes lit up as he smiled that morning, and she sighs as she drops onto the seat across from him and reaches her hand out to him. After a moment, he places his hand in hers and she squeezes it lightly, sighing as she feels the tremor in his fingers. “Hey, kiddo, tell me what’s going on.”

He shakes his head at her, then shrugs as if in resignation. “When I was up there, in the wormhole, I saw things. Things I can’t even begin to explain, I heard voices, one that was louder than all the others, and then I fell. I shouldn’t be here, Nat, I don’t know why I’m still here.”


	3. The Truth Hurts

She waits for him to put his sunglasses back on and get up and leave, but he doesn’t pull his hand away and doesn’t make a move to do anything. He seems to think she has answers for him. She wishes she did as she watches a single tear slip down his cheek and she reaches over to wipe it away.

“Do you remember when I opened this place?”

He sniffs, then nods. “Of course. You were pissed as hell. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you so angry. I had never seen Nick scared of anyone before, but he was scared shitless.” He manages a grin and squeezes her fingers lightly. “You thought you could still go out into the field, even with your bum leg. You’d tried being a desk jockey, that didn’t take. Don’t know what Nick was thinking when he had you pushing papers, you were a good analyst, but you hated it.”

“He was thinking he owed me. He gave me this place after I walked - limped out.”

Tony squints at her and traces an old scar on her hand. “He did owe you. He should have pulled you out earlier on your last mission.”

“I wouldn’t let him, you know that.”

“Nah, Nat, I studied that last mission, I heard the radio transmissions before he lost you. He knew you were hurt, he shouldn’t have listened to you. He was your handler, he knew - you always did more than you should have. Shit.” He pulls his hand away and yanks his glasses out of his hair and shoves them back on his face. “It’s not the same.”

“Isn’t it? You got lucky this time, kiddo. You’ve done enough. You don’t owe Fury a thing. Just hang up the armor. Let someone -”

“Yeah, right. If you could still do it, be out in the field - would you stop, and let someone else take your place?”

She glares at him for a moment, then sighs and shakes her head. “What about Pepper?”

“What about Pepper?” She can tell he’s rolling his eyes at her behind the dark glasses, but eventually, he takes them off again and tosses them on the table. “She’s busy running my - her company.”

“Does she know you aren’t sleeping? Or eating?” She looks down pointedly at the plate in front of him. It’s obvious that he just pushed the food around the plate without taking a bite. 

“Probably. She moved into the tower last month. I don’t know how to explain it to her, what I see and hear when I close my eyes at night, so I make sure she’s asleep, and then I go down to the workshop and tinker.”

“When was the last time you slept?”

“Honestly? Three days ago. There’s just too much - I can’t lose her, Nat. And now she’s in danger, my fault. So I can’t just stop.”

“You need to talk to her. She knows you, and loves you in spite of that fact.”

“Thanks, Nat.”

“Come on, Tony. You have the guys, you aren’t on your own, trust them -”

“You know it’s not that easy, Nat. They didn’t see what I saw, they don’t know -” She takes his other hand carefully in hers and sighs as she sees the broken fingers taped together. “Yeah, I know. I was working on a prototype. Three days is too long.”

“I can close up and drive you home.”

“Nat. I’m not a kid anymore.”

“No, I know you aren’t. You’re a grown man. A genius, billionaire, philanthropist, who can still be an idiot when you don’t take care of yourself or let other people help you when you won’t do it on your own.”

“Ouch.” He offers her the boyish grin she remembers all too well, from when she had called him on his bullshit dozens of times before.

“Yeah, the truth hurts sometimes.”

He picks up his sunglasses and pushes them onto his nose again, then clears his throat. “Mind giving me a lift home, Nat?”

“It would be my pleasure, kiddo.”


	4. Pepper

Natasha has learned over the years to make sure Tony actually gets home, into the house and into bed, so she parks his car and all but carries him into what is left of Stark Tower. She looks up and shakes her head, knowing it is still standing only because of Tony's design and Pepper's attention to each and every detail. She kisses his cheek, then watches as he falls onto the couch, already asleep by the time his head hits the pillow, and goes in search of his better half.

"Pepper?" She finds her at her desk, staring blankly into space. "Pep?"

She finally blinks at her and Natasha can see Tony isn't the only one who hasn't been sleeping. "Hey, Nat. Sorry. If you're looking for Tony -"

"I brought him home, he's on the couch, snoring. He told me -"

"Nightmares. I thought Afghanistan was bad, seems that was a walk in the park in comparison. He's not eating, he's just in the workshop, making armor after armor. I think he thinks if he makes enough of them, he can stop anything bad from happening. He won't tell me what he saw, why he thought he had to... how? I don't even know how he made it back from... Norse Gods? Aliens...?" Pepper runs her fingers through her hair and finally focuses on her friend. "Sorry, Nat. I just don't understand why it has to be him. He -"

Natasha sits down across from her and shrugs. "Because he can. Because he inherited his father's money, brilliance, not to mention his arrogance, but, unfortunately has a conscience, which his father had once in a while, when it suited him. I was lucky enough that it suited him to save my ass. I'm gonna talk to Fury, see what I can do, but Pep, honey, you need to rest too. He's out cold on the couch. You go to bed, and I'll keep an ear out."

"Nat -" Pepper begins, then sees the look in her eyes, and knows better than to argue with the former spy, and slowly gets to her feet, walks over to her and hugs her, then stumbles into the bedroom and closes the door. Natasha groans, then is about to pull her phone from her pocket when she hears Tony yell and she walks down the stairs as quickly as her leg will allow, to find him sitting upright and shivering. 

"Tony. Look at me, open your eyes and look at me. You're safe, you are at home." She slowly lowers herself to the floor in front of him and knows she will need help getting up again later, but at the moment the only thing that matters is saving him from himself. She places her hands on his knees and waits for him to open his eyes and see her. "Tony."

"Nat. I don't know what to do. I did this, I started it. It's all my fault." He lowers his head and all she can do is watch the strongest person she's ever known, slowly slip from the couch and into her arms. He rests his head against her shoulder, closes his eyes and sobs as he did when he returned from Afghanistan, but she, like Pepper, knows this time it's far worse. 

She wraps her arms around him and holds onto him in hopes of keeping him from shattering to pieces. "I got you, kiddo. You aren't alone, you don't have to do this all on your own. We'll figure it out. It's a puzzle, every puzzle has a solution, you always say, yeah? You just need help with this one. But right now, you need to sleep. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here, with you and Pepper."

He draws back from her and blinks. "Pepper?"

She nods and wipes the tears from his face. "She went to bed. She wants to help, sweetie, but she doesn't know how. Now, stretch out, and close your eyes and I'll tell you a story..."

"Nat - the coffee shop -"

"Shh. Being the sole proprietor and cook, cashier and chief bottle washer has its advantages. I get to decide when I'm open, and as of today, I'm closed until further notice. Now, shhhh, close your eyes, and listen." She ran her fingers through his hair and watched as his eyes fluttered shut. "You'll remember this one..."


	5. "Once upon a time..."

"Once upon a time..."

Tony snorted in spite of everything, but knew better than to make a further comment, as he uncurled from Natasha's arms, helped her to her feet, then onto the couch, knowing that she would stay seated on the floor as long as he needed her to, no matter how badly it bothered her back and knees. They'd been here before, done this all before, and he knew it wouldn't be the last time. He stretched out on the couch, and sighed as she settled him into her arms, then drew a blanket over them both.

"There was a kind and gentle knight," she continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Who, unfortunately, was as stubborn as he was brilliant and selfless..."

"Fairy tale, Nat. There are no heroes..." He muttered, then yawned and sighed again as she ran her fingers through his hair, and his voice faded as the story went on.

"He wasn't perfect, far from it. He was gruff and condescending to those he didn't trust, and wore an armor of arrogance to protect himself from those who might do him or his loved ones harm; but once, once he offered his love, it was the treasure that never tarnished." She felt him tremble in her arms, but could tell by his breathing that he was already asleep, and knew that it was going to be a rough day for both of them. She rolled her eyes at the ceiling and recalled the first time she had told him the story, after his parents had been killed in a car accident when he was twenty-one, and overnight had become the CEO and face of Stark Industries.

_"Nat." He looked up from the computer monitors, but made no move to get up from his chair. "I don't have time."_

_She shook her head at him, walked over to him and dropped a bag on the desk. "You were missed at the memorial. Not a good beginning, kiddo. The press are vultures, and you are making it too easy for them."_

_"Shit, it can't be Sunday already." He squinted at the monitor closest to him and groaned. _

_"Nope, it's Monday." She studied the screens and made sure she wasn't going to cost the company billions if she pulled the plug._

_"Don't even think about it, Nat. I'm eating, I'm eating." He opened the bag and closed his eyes as the scent of cheeseburgers and fries overwhelmed him. "Damn. I'm way too easy. I'm glad you are retired, all you would ever have to do to get information out of me would be a couple of these." He glanced up at her and put the bag down, then wrapped his arms around himself, and muttered, "I can't sleep, Nat. Rhodey wouldn't let me identify them. He did it for me - so I don't know - it's worse not knowing."_

_Natasha offered him her hand and helped him to his feet, then led him to the couch and sat down and patted the space next to her. He rolled his eyes at her, and mumbled. "What, you are going to tell me a bedtime story?"_

_"Always worked before. You're just older, not necessarily wiser, kiddo. Give it a chance, hmm? JARVIS?"_

_"Miss?"_

_Natasha chuckled, she had never been able to convince the AI that she hadn't been a 'miss' in years, and had long ago given up trying to correct it. "Take us off the grid until further notice."_

_"Yes, Miss."___

_ _

_ _"Noooo... Pepper..." Tony groaned out in his sleep and Natasha tightened her arms around him and held on as tightly as she dared._ _

_ _"You're safe, kiddo. You're home. Pepper is safe. Everyone is safe."_ _

_ _"Nat?" He whispered and tucked himself tighter around her._ _

_ _"Yeah, kiddo. I'm here. Not going anywhere, just sleep, hmm?"_ _

_ _He nodded against her shoulder and soon the only sound that could be heard was the sound of his quiet snoring, while outside, the world was busy rebuilding itself._ _


	6. Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of backstory on Nat and Fury...

Not many people have ever gotten under Nick Fury's skin. 

He has been through most known forms of torture and those that weren't ever recorded in history books or those records that weren't supposed to exist, but he met his match when he met Natalia Alianovna Romanova, the intense, red-headed asset he had discovered after an assignment had gone terribly wrong, and her parents had been lost due to his youthful arrogance, inexperience, and frankly just plain bad luck. He had sworn he would do better for her, so he brought her along as slowly as possible, and tried to give her easy, safe assignments until the day when she called his bluff and stormed into his office and read him the riot act as only she could.

_"Nat. I'm busy."_

_"Nope. What are these bullshit assignments you keep sending me on, that anyone with an IQ over 80 could do? What was the point of training me if you weren't going to use my skills properly, Fury? Do you need a rematch in the ring so I can prove to you that I deserve some real field work?"_

He had got up from his desk and met her icy glare as best he could, but knew she had always known that he was doing his best to protect her. He also knew better than anyone that she didn't want to be protected, but wanted to truly serve the people that had taught her what loyalty meant. He knew it wasn't a country or a government agency that she wanted to serve, but the people who had taught her that she was important simply because she was who she was. She was more than a mere cog in an enormous machine, once you gained her trust and loyalty, it was for life, but mess with her and her fierceness was legendary even at nineteen.

He had finally given in, only to lose her to a shattered leg five years later, but she had become his best recruiter and trainer of new SHIELD agents; she could be compassionate when it was called for, and still kick ass when the need arose, it didn't happen often after one demonstration of her skills was enough to quell any ideas of sass among that year's class. Word of mouth made sure that following classes understood to toe the line, and never cross it or her.

She had become his one good eye without him even realizing it until Stark became an issue, and she had quietly taken him under her wing and turned him into her pet project. He sighs as he sees the latest message from her, and knows he is due for a visit.

"Damn, I'm gettin' too old for this shit." He turns off his phone and is only mildly surprised when he looks up to find her standing in his office, eyes narrowed, arms crossed. "What _do_ you want, Romanov?"

"You are asking too much of him."

"Shit. This is about Stark?"

"You didn't even want him at the beginning, what was it? Oh, right, he didn't play well with others, and he's a bit narcissistic? He's a Stark, that's all bad genetics and you know it. Then you took your sweet time getting him Howard's stuff - you didn't even share that treasure trove with me, until it was almost too late..." Nick knows she's just warming up and he holds up a hand in an attempt to slow her down.

"I ran out of options and you know it." He considers getting up from his chair, but he knows his height, and famous glare gives him no advantage when it comes to dealing with her. Instead he rubs his hands over his face and sighs. "Look - I know he's family. I promised his father I'd do my best to keep an eye on him, but that was before, hell, Nat. He didn't even know what was coming, and I sure as hell wasn't thinking I'd have to worry about Gods and Aliens, not to mention whatever the hell is going on in the universe. I thought we had trouble enough here on Earth to last me a couple lifetimes - yeah, I know. We, no, _I_ dropped the ball, and unfortunately Stark is having to clean up our mess now. Is he okay?"

"Physically, he's just a bit banged up, and you know he's tough, but ever since Afghanistan, he's got this martyr thing going on, thinks he has to be the one to save the world, feels responsible for it going to hell. It's been going to hell since, what? For-fucking-ever? Mentally? How do you think he is?" She finally blows out a breath and runs her fingers through her hair in frustration, before dropping into the seat in front of Fury's desk. "Honestly, Nick, it took a long time til he got over Afghanistan. But, damn, the nuke and the wormhole thing? He still isn't sleeping great -"

"Nat?" He knows there's more she won't say, she won't break Stark's confidence, especially if it's stuff that Stark doesn't even know that he's shared with her. Stark is the one person she feels she owes more than even him, and he gets it, and he respects her all the more for her loyalty to him. The kid has had a rough time of it, starting at birth, and even though Howard was like a brother to him, he knows he was a shit father. 

"Nope. If he wants to tell you, he'll tell you himself. Look. Just give him a break for a while? Let him catch his breath, hmm? And when he's ready, I'll let you know."

He looks into her eyes and knows how serious she is. "Yeah, alright, Romanov. Just have him meet me at your place when he wants to talk. I hope you'll be opening the shop again soon, I've been missing our 2 AM chats."

She can't help but grin at him as she rises slowly from her seat. "Yeah, been missing you too, Ol' Man. Give me a couple more days, hmm?"


	7. Maria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From a suggestion by Purrfectlmt ;) This is the first time I've written Maria Hill, she's Nat's age, they had a relationship until Nat was hurt, now that they are older, they are 'friends with benefits'.

Natasha settles onto the couch, about to finally fall asleep after checking that Tony was actually sleeping in his room, instead of sneaking down to the workshop again. It had only taken a week of watching over him, but it was a week from hell, and tomorrow the coffee shop would be open again. She needs just a couple of hours of sleep, maybe four, she isn't as young as she used to be, after all. She is just drifting off when her phone vibrates on the table next to the couch.

"Mar?"

"Nat."

She sits up and breathes out a sigh of relief. "I was going to call you -"

"How's Tony?"

"He's a mess."

"He's always a mess," Maria Hill snorted. "Has been since he was a kid."

Natasha closes her eyes and mumbles, "tell me something good."

"Something good, hmm? Let's see... well, since New York, no new aliens have been spotted, of course we didn't spot the fucking Chitauri until they were coming through the damn wormhole, but... " As Maria carries on about the positive things she's seen since the attack, Nat has a flash of the first time she saw her. 

It was two years after Fury had all but adopted her and she had immersed herself in all things American, especially the English language, but she had spent most of her time training with agents who were not encouraged to speak to her. She was Russian after all, and even at her age, perhaps especially at her age, even two years later, she knew she wasn't trusted by anyone around her. Maria was different. A couple years older, and for a spy,(or anyone, Nat learned later) the most open-minded, yet toughest, and the most beautiful person she had ever met. 

"Maria Hill." She had helped her up from the mat and held tightly to her hand as she shook it.

"Is that your real name?" Natasha had asked her, and Maria had laughed.

"According to my birth certificate it is. I'm sure there's a copy around in the files somewhere."

"Natal - Natasha Romanov."

"I heard that Fury wanted to give you a more, well, American name, you had none of it."

"My name is all I have left of my family."

Maria had met her icy blue glare with understanding, then spent the next two hours taking her to the mat over and over again, and from that day forward they had been inseparable until Natasha's last mission. 

Natasha opened her eyes to find Maria by her bedside, and it had been left to her to remind her that her partner of three years was dead, and she could tell from the look in her eyes that her active career was over as well. Life as she had known it was over, and though Maria had wanted to give up her active status to be by her side as she went through rehab, Nat had shut her out. After a few of months of trying and failing to get through to her, Maria left, making Fury swear that he wouldn't let Nat know where she was, and she took the most difficult missions she could get. It had taken them years and finally a ten minute rant from Fury before they were friends again. These days they still couldn't live together, but they rarely went a week without at least speaking, and it had been almost a month since they had seen each other. 

"Nat?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"You okay? Want me to open the shop for you tomorrow?"

"Nah. I'll be over first thing in the morning. On second thought, maybe second, or third thing." She grins as she hears Maria laugh from the other end and can tell from the sounds in the background that she has crashed in her place above the coffee shop, which means she is just as exhausted as she is herself.

"I let myself in to your place, hope you don't mind, I still have the key from -."

"You know my place is your place, it could be _ our _ place -"

There is a long pause and she knows she has overstepped. She knew better than to make the offer again, and she realizes just how worn out she truly is. "Sorry. It's just been a long, bad month, and I miss you."

"Yeah, sweetness, I'll be here waiting, and I will open the shop for you tomorrow."

Natasha knew that voice, from those nights when the only thing that held her together was the sound of Maria's voice in her ear telling her she would make it home in one piece.

"Love you, Mar."

"I know, you idiot, go to sleep."

She blinks awake to the scent of coffee and sees Tony sitting in front of her.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah. There's coffee."

"Smells good, but I'm going home and then I'm going to sleep in my own bed for a few hours."

Tony nods, and looks away from her, then clears his throat. "I appreciate -"

"You're not going to get all sappy on me, are you, Stark?"

"Nat." He turns and meets her eyes and grins. "Mar's back."

"Yeah."

"Good. That's good, say hey to her. We'll come by in a couple days -"

"You're welcome, kiddo." 

"I'm not -"

She raises an eyebrow at him and he can't help but laugh, and she knows eventually, he will be okay. 

"Love you, Nat."

"I know. Take Pepper to Venice, turn off all the phones and make a baby. You deserve some happiness." She leans over, kisses his forehead, and ruffles his hair, then slowly uncurls from the couch, pulls her boots on, and makes her way to the door. "Love you too, Stark."

She is about to put her key in the lock when the door swings open and strong hands pull her into the apartment. "Mar -"

Maria silences her with a single, long, sweet kiss, then takes her by the hand and leads her to the bedroom. Without a word, she efficiently undresses them, then helps her into bed and curls around her. "One day, Nat, one day I'll wake up, and know I'm done -"

"Shhh. Don't. It was my fault -" The last sound she hears is Maria's light snort of laughter and then she is out cold. She wakes up to find Maria gone, and there is a note left on her pillow.

N-

I didn't wake up until 11:30, so I'm going to grab a shower and open up at noon. Take your time, and come down when you are ready.

Love you, sweetness -

Mar.


End file.
